Bryan Cranston has a message to the legions of "Breaking Bad" fans who are worked into a frenzy about next week's series finale: Simply, thank you.

"Our little show about a depressed man who gets terminal lung cancer and starts cooking crystal meth couldn't have happened without you," he said while walking the red carpet Sunday at the Emmys. "Who would watch that, or even follow it, if it weren't for you fans."

He added that the finale of the show is very much in keeping with what The Times' television critic Mary McNamara wrote recently in an essay about why "Breaking Bad" and shows of its ilk are the new novel.

"It was very astute, what Mary wrote," he said. "It's also sad in a way because we want the culture of books to stay alive and what we provide and what they provide are very different."

Still, the serialized story can be found at its finest in the best of novels and on great television shows. And Cranston feels that just like a good book, "Breaking Bad" did, in fact, reach its natural conclusion.

"There's no question that we have not overstayed our welcome," Cranston said of the finale. "We have not diluted our story. It's a fine, fine ending — it's unapologetic. It ended in a very 'Breaking Bad' style."

From "Breaking Bad" to "Veep," stars turned out for one of Hollywood's biggest parties, the Emmys Governor's Ball. Emmys 2013: Full coverage: Quotes from the stars | Winers and top nominees | Red carpet | Timeline